11 Bleep.com MP3s

Bleep.com is the digital-music download service operated by the folks at Warp Records, and it’s running a special free-download promotion in conjunction with Rip ‘N’ Burn magazine, which is ceasing to publish (the magazine, not the download retailer). Bleep is a DRM-free service, which means you purchase unencrypted MP3s, not heavily protected, proprietary files, which is the case with, oh, the iTunes Music Store. (DRM = “digital rights management.”) You need to register for Bleep to be eligible to enjoy the promotion, but registering is free, and once you do, you’ll see “RIPNBURN” listed toward the top of the pulldown menu that names all the Bleep affiliated labels (among them Warp, Ninja Tune, One Little Indian, Domino, Lex, Schematic, Skam and others; in other words, the good stuff). If you’re already registered, you can also just click on over to bleep.com/ripnburn. Every time you access this pulldown or that link, the site rotates through various free downloads, from deservedly prominent artists such as DJ Vadim, Luke Vibert and Four Tet. You can also access the free tracks individually from the menu on the left side of the screen, which features the covers of the albums from which the songs were extracted. There are 11 downloads in all: Busdriver‘s “Unemployed Black Astronaut,” Colder‘s “Shiny Star (Matthew Dear remix),” Fog‘s “10th Avenue Freakout,” Four Tet‘s “Smile Around the Face,” the Go! Team‘s “Get It Together,” Jamie Lidell‘s “The City,” Mugison’s “Murr Murr,” One Self‘s “Be Your Own (radio edit)” (that’s DJ Vadim with rapper Yarah Bravo), Quasimoto‘s “Greenery,” Luke Vibert’s “Funky Acid Stuff” and Vitalic‘s “Wooo.” Locate the ones you’re interested in, and then “purchase” each file for $0.00. If you’re not familiar with the Bleep interface, consider this a free lesson. Particularly recommended are the Four Tet (a funky beat with these high-pitched glossolalia vocals), the Vibert (which finds a common ground between his more recent electro-retro sounds and his earlier blunted downtempo), and the Vitalic (a heavyfooted fuzzed-out organ grind).

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Current Activities

• October 13, 2016: This day marks the start of the 250th weekly Disquiet Junto project.
• November 16, 2016: I'll be sharing the mic at Adobe Books in San Francisco with my fellow 33 1/3 author Evie Nagy for an evening hosted, from 7pm to 10pm, by Marc Kate (facebook.com).
• December 1, 2016: A likely speaking engagement. Details to come.
• December 13, 2016: This day marks the 20th anniversary of Disquiet.com.
• January 5, 2017: This day marks the 5th anniversary of the Disquiet Junto.
• Ongoing: The Disquiet Junto series of weekly communal music projects explore constraints as a springboard for creativity and productivity. There is a new project each Thursday afternoon (California time), and it is due the following Monday at 11:59pm: disquiet.com/junto.
• My book on Aphex Twin's landmark 1994 album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, published as part of the 33 1/3 series, an imprint of Bloomsbury, is now in its second printing. It can be purchased at amazon.com, among other places.